MONSTER FEST is Australia’s premiere genre film festival. It is a celebration of all that is weird and wonderful in the international cult cinema palette – Horror, fantasy, science-fiction, action, crime, noir, dark drama, gothic western, black comedy, animation, erotica and more.

MONSTER FEST is about blackened cinemas with awe-struck patrons sitting on the edge of their seats. It’s about white knuckles, cold sweats, nervous gasps, gut-wrenching laughs and screams in the dark, but most of all Monster Fest is about people – people who love cinema with bite, a community of like-minded souls from every corner of life, united by a passion for the most twisted imaginings on the planet.

It is dangerous, delirious and delightful. It is about moving with wild abandon into the darkened recesses of cinematic imagination, and doing it with others. It’s about leaving your living room, entering the cinema and daring to live it large with films that are larger than life itself.

Founded in 2011 by Monster Pictures' Neil Foley and Grant Hardie, Monster Fest is a mix of Premieres, international festival favourites, challenging new discoveries and curated repertory sidebars alongside industry-focused events such as panels and masterclasses with renowned international guests, and a special emphasis on supporting emerging Australian genre film talent through the festival and beyond.

Awards & Prizes

MONSTER FEST has a juried competition for shorts and features. In 2017 we offered 9, including $10,000 in post-production prizes. You can see a full list of the 2017 awards HERE: http://monsterfest.com.au/2017/monsterfest2017-12/

Rules & Terms

Upon submitting a film for consideration to MONSTER FEST the submitter acknowledges and agrees to the following:

1. The submitter holds relevant copyrights for the submitted film and agrees to screen the film at MONSTER FEST should it be selected for the program.

2. The submitter understands that submitting a film does not guarantee entry into the festival program and that no refunds will be issued for submission fees for films not selected for the program.

3. The submitter agrees that if the film is selected for the MONSTER FEST program they will be able to provide a screening copy on DCP and arrange for KDMs (if required) and shipping of materials to Australia by the agreed festival materials deadline. Short films will be accepted as DCP or .mov files (exact specs TBD).

MONSTER FEST only accepts submissions electronically, utilising online screeners. This allows your film to be seen by the whole programming team and thus increases its chances of being selected.

GENERAL RULES
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Eligibility requirements for features and shorts:
-Features must be Australian premieres and have not had a festival debut prior to January 1, 2017.
-Short films must be Victoria premieres not publicly available online and have not had a festival debut prior to January 1, 2017.
-Expanded Cinema projects must be Victoria Premieres.
– Running time for all feature films must be 60 – 120 minutes.
– Running time for all shorts must be approximately 15 minutes or less.
– Selected feature films must be made available on DCP (depending on venue) and the submitter must arrange for KDMs (if required) and shipping of materials to Australia by the agreed festival materials deadline.
-Selected short films must be made available on DCP (depending on venue) or .mov file (exact specs TBD) and the submitter must arrange for KDMs (if required) and shipping of materials to Australia by the agreed festival materials deadline.
-Expanded Cinema proposals must be primarily self-sufficient, however this can be addressed on a case by case basis. The artist should provide and operate all personalised equipment (laptops, small gauge film projectors, any video projectors outside of existing cinema setup etc) and be able to travel to the festival at one’s own expense to present.
-Film submissions in a foreign language must be subtitled in English.
-Preview format is an online screener. We will not be accepting physical screeners (do NOT mail or drop off screeners at the Monster office)
-If submitting more than one film, a separate completed entry is required for each title.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

SCHEDULING: Films are scheduled at the discretion of Monster Fest. Monster Fest retains the right to make changes to the published schedule at any time and for any reason. Films may be screened more than once.

RELEASE: MONSTER FEST is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. The submitter shall indemnify and hold harmless Monster Fest from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening materials entered.

7 Reviews

Overall Rating

Quality

Value

Communication

Hospitality

Networking

Oscar Axel Thorborg

Vanessa Gudgeon

Briony Kidd

There was a high standard of programming at Monster Fest 2016 with interesting guests and a diverse range of films and discussions, with something to suit all tastes. The short film section is is competitive so definitely worthwhile to be included.

Jill Gevargizian

Turner Stewart

Simply one of the absolute best fests around! We were so excited to have our film involved in the fest, and their presentation was absolutely phenomenal! Thank you so much to the incredible festival organizers for such a thrilling experience!

February 8, 2018Opening Date

April 20, 2018Earlybird Deadline

June 15, 2018Regular Deadline

August 3, 2018Late Deadline

October 5, 2018Notification Date

November 22 – 28, 2018Event Date

Categories & Fees

Feature Films

The feature film category is for films that are between 60 -120 minutes long and are classified as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or related genre films (black comedy, dark thriller, crime, psychodrama, magic realism, animation, gothic western, action, suspense, etc). Films must be Australian premieres and have not had a festival debut prior to January 1, 2017.

The short film category is for films approximately 15 minutes long or less that are classified as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or related genre films (black comedy, dark thriller, crime, psychodrama, magic realism, animation, gothic western, action, suspense, etc). Short films must be Victoria premieres and have not had a festival debut prior to January 1, 2017. Short films that are already available publicly online are not eligible.

We have a new section at MONSTER FEST for expanded cinema projects, namely multimedia presentations in which the presenter is an integral part of the show: multimedia lectures, video installations, live scores, live projection, etc. Are you a media artist that does something with genre that might not qualify as a conventional film screening? Then this category may be for you!